Release Date: February 27, 2014
An unofficial sequel to the popular farm game series Harvest Moon, created by Japanese studio Marvelous, who also developed several HM titles. Like its predecessor, Story of Seasons allows us to play as an amateur farmer, who moves to a small, shabby town of Oak Tree. The gameplay is not much different from that of Harvest Moon—you buy seeds, plant and water them, gather crops, and take care of your animals.
Story of Seasons for 3DS is another instalment in the well-received Harvest Moon series. The game had to be released under a new title, since Natsume holds rights to the name Harvest Moon. It is available only for Nintendo 3DS and was developed by Marvelous, the creators of several Harvest Moon productions, as well as Valhalla Knights and Fortune Street. In Story of Seasons, you play as an amateur farmer once again. The story takes place is a small, shabby town of Oak Tree, where the protagonist moves to in hopes of making a career. First, you have to create your character – the real adventure starts afterwards.
The mechanics of the gameplay are explained by NPC farmers living in Oak tree. Fans of the original series should feel at home, since the players still have to buy seeds, plant and water them, gather crops, and take care of your animals. The biggest novelty, however, is the system allowing the player to trade with other towns. You can sell goods to other players with the use of Wi-Fi. Not only you can get extra money from that, but it also improves Oak Tree's economy.
However, there's more to Story of Seasons. Like in other Harvest Moon productions, the social aspect is equally important. You can actively participate in the life of your town by meeting new people, coming to parties, or even falling in love and starting a family.
Platforms:
Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Marvelous
Publisher: XSEED Games
7GAMES
A series of agricultural life simulators, enriched with RPG elements and solutions taken from the economic strategy genre. The company responsible for the production of games under this banner is Marvelous, which in 2003 took over the Victor Interactive Software studio, responsible for the series known in Western markets as Harvest Moon.
Game Ratings for Story of Seasons Video Game.
GameCrate: 7.3 / 10 by David Sanchez
I played a lot of Animal Crossing last year, in the process rekindling my love for life sims. Playing Story of Seasons was a much different experience because it's more fast-paced and goal-oriented. It's not too unlike past Harvest Moon games, but it's a worthwhile entry nonetheless. There's a lovely little game to uncover here, though it'll likely take you a couple dozen hours to really get things going. That said, the time investment is certainly worth it, because at the end of the day, you're left with a fine farming sim that's totally rewarding.
GameSpot: 7 / 10 by Josiah Renaudin
Despite its nagging restrictions, Story of Seasons is an absorbing farming game with a wonderful sense of progression.
Post Arcade (National Post): 8 / 10 by Patrick O'Rourke
Harvest Moon titles have always been a little offbeat, but unfortunately the last few entries in the series have strayed from the series' original focus – farming – complicating the franchise's...
Average score from votes.